Abstract
Emerging strains of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, that show increased transmission fitness and/or immune evasion are classified as “variants of concern” (VOCs). Recently, a SARS-CoV-2 variant first identified in November 2021 in South Africa has been recognized as a fifth VOC, termed “Omicron.” What makes this VOC so alarming is the high number of changes, especially in the viral Spike protein, and accumulating evidence for increased transmission efficiency and escape from neutralizing antibodies. In an amazingly short time, the Omicron VOC has outcompeted the previously dominating Delta VOC. However, it seems that the Omicron VOC is overall less pathogenic than other SARS-CoV-2 VOCs. Here, we provide an overview of the mutations in the Omicron genome and the resulting changes in viral proteins compared to other SARS-CoV-2 strains and discuss their potential functional consequences.
Keywords: BA.1; BA.2; COVID-19; Omicron; SARS-CoV-2; Spike; variants of concern.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, spike, variants of concern, omicron, BA.1, BA.2, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus disease, Coronavirus disease 2019, coronavirus, pandemic, Mutation, Neutralizing antibodies, VoC, Genome, SARS-CoV-2 variant, variants of concern, Transmission, Viral proteins, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, omicron, variants, Spike protein, Protein, immune evasion, South Africa, VOCs, Delta VOC, Evidence, strain, Efficiency, causative agent, changes, viral spike protein, acute respiratory syndrome, Viral protein, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, functional consequences, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, pathogenic, SARS-CoV-2 strain, resulting, less, changes in, accumulating, 【제목키워드】 concern,